The Lord Jesus Christ has been so precious to all of us by providing for our salvation, and then calling us to serve Him in Christian ministry. I trust that His Hand continues to rest upon you, and I am certain He has received much glory because of your faithfulness.

As I serve the Lord today, it continues to amaze my wife, Karyn, and I at the incredible journey He has taken us through. Not everyone has traveled across the seas, but all of us can testify to the remarkable faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. There are many high marks to my calling into the ministry, but surely the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary must rank near the top. I truly do not believe I could ever adequately say thank you to the Lord for what He did for me through our beloved School of Providence and Prayer both in the good times and the extremely difficult times. Among our greatest blessings is the countless number of brothers and sisters in Christ we have all over the United States of America due largely to our wonderful experiences at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Every one of us has been the recipient of generosity and giving too numerous and too precious, sometimes, to mention. So many people have given so much just for someone like me.

NOW IT’S MY TURN! It’s time for me to give something back and that is exactly what my wife and I are determined to do. Being the pastor of a very active, growing congregation demands not only my full attention and service to the Lord, but our building programs warrant major priority in our giving beyond the tithe. Nevertheless, Karyn and I are going to continue to give to NOBTS and especially to this campaign. I am asking you to do the same. I was thrilled to be asked by Dr. Kelley to serve as National Chairman of the Alumni Division for the New Horizons Campaign. Please pray from the bottom of your heart as we do our best to rally the troops. With more than 15,000 alumni, I truly believe that with minimal financial effort we can make a huge contribution to the life and ministry of countless numbers of students who pass through the hallowed halls of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. My Executive Committee unanimously voted to request that every dime collected by the alumni of NOBTS be given exclusively to the building of student housing on our campus. Having lived there, and judging by the response so far, nothing could give us greater joy!

You will be hearing from me again, but right now I want to extend to you an invitation to make every effort to attend this year’s Southern Baptist Convention meeting in St. Louis - especially for our alumni luncheon on Wednesday, June 12. May I ask you to make a special effort to be there? It would be great to have thousands of us there to celebrate the goodness of God and to join our hearts together in thanking Him for the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

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